


The Keeping and Caring of Abused Omegas

by RedPineTree



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Abuse, Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha Thor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Animal Ears, Animal Shelters, Animal Traits, Anxiety, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Based off a dream, Breeding farm, Bruce Banner Feels, Bucky is the best, Bucky stays at home, Bucky's anger management issues, Cages, Clint Barton Feels, Collars, Deaf Clint Barton, Dehumanization, Dog Fighting, Domestic, Don't worry, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fear, Flashbacks, Government Experimentation, Homelessness, How Do I Tag, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, In a way, It gonna get better, Kinda, M/M, Muzzles, Natasha Romanov Has Issues, Nausea, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Omega Bruce Banner, Omega Clint Barton, Omega Loki (Marvel), Omega Natasha Romanov, Omega Tony Stark, Omegas, Omegas as Pets AU, One shots will be added, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Steve Rogers, Self-Esteem Issues, Sorry Not Sorry, Steve Is the Best, Steve works at SI, The Author Regrets Everything, This all happens before Steve and Bucky, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Issues, Trust Issues, Unethical Experimentation, We good tho, alphas - Freeform, everyone is protective, illegal things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 16:42:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12963819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedPineTree/pseuds/RedPineTree
Summary: One of the main things that made alphas and omegas different was that alphas were top of the hierarchy.That's how it had been for a long time, and omegas were always the bottom, due to their...deformities, usually in the form of a tail and ears.According to tradition, the first omega was caused by inbreeding, and from there it got worse. More omegas appeared, with even more deformities, and that was when the government began to attempt to get rid of them. Omegas hid, and at some point, alphas began to use them as pets, even going so far as to breed them and sell them and even to experiment on them. Many omegas were abused and mistreated, but even more were happy with their alphas, accompanying them everywhere. Not to mention, a lot of society didn't care much about omegas. They were just freaks and objects used for entertainment, and occasionally company but a lot of them eventually ended up in shelters.ORHow Steve and Bucky ended up adopting four abused omegas.





	1. Clint

**Author's Note:**

> I hope someone will get a kick out of reading my dreams.
> 
> I'm just going to go ahead and post this. I know that I have like five unfinished stories, but I'm almost finished with one. So I'm just going to start another in advance. If this ends up really bad, i'm probably going to orphan it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Abuse, eating disorders(?), implied previous self-harm, vomit, kidnapping(?)
> 
> also Phil dies

Clint knew something was up the moment that long-haired blonde alpha took him from his spacious cage and moved him to a tiny one, and next thing he knew he was in a car.

His new alpha didn't talk as he drove, but he listened to the radio. The car smelt like food, and it made Clint’s stomach rumble. The ride felt too short.

The alpha was rolling his crate, unlocked the door. All Clint could see was shoes and hear loud talking. It was a bit muffled, but that normal since he was half deaf.

“Bucky, I'm home! And I brought a surprise.” His new alpha yelled.

Muffled thumping.

“That surprise better be food. I didn't cook anything tonight.” The other alpha said, and his name must be Bucky.

_There had been food in the car,_ Clint recalled.

“Well, I did bring food, but that's not the surprise, Buck.”

“What the-- Steve, you didn't.” Bucky sounded angry. “Steve, you know how I feel about pets.”

“I know, I know, I'm sorry, but Thor begged me to take him! The shelter is out of space, and no one would adopt him, and they were about to put him down!” Steve, that had to be his new alpha, pleaded with Bucky.

Clint didn't know the exact meaning of “put him down,” but he was pretty sure it meant to kill. He had heard the phrase used frequently in the shelter with the other omegas, usually before someone disappeared forever.

“Steve…”

“Please, Bucky. I'll never do it again. This omega’s been at the pound his whole life just because he's half deaf. Don't you think he deserves a home?”

“You bought a half-deaf omega without even knowing anything about how to take care of an omega,” Bucky asked. He still didn't sound happy.

“Thor gave me a manual?”

_The Keeping and Caring of Abused Omegas._

Clint had seen it on the counter before he was shoved into the tiny wheeled cage. He wasn't supposed to be able to read, but he could. At least some, anyway. His brother had taught him the basics when they used to live together. Before the omega catchers came and everything was ruined.

“Steven Rogers!” Bucky snapped. “Abused?!”

Another word that Clint heard frequently, but wasn't sure exactly what it meant. The alphas at the shelter didn't like that word. They smelt angry and upset when it was used.

“They were about to put him down, Buck!” Steve protested loudly, “Plus, Thor gave me materials for free. Two bowls, a brush, shampoo, a collar, a leash, and a bed. It's all in the car. Please don't make me take him back, I'll take good care of him, I swear.”

Bucky sighed.

“We'll keep the omega on one condition: if he causes too much trouble, we give him away.”

_Give him away._ Clint’s least favorite words.

The long, blond-haired alpha at the shelter said that if Clint was given away one more time, he couldn't be able to save him. Clint hated this cage, but he would be willing to stay in it for the rest of his life if Steve would keep him and let him avoid disappearing like the others. Like Barney.

“Deal.” Steve immediately agreed. He sounded happy.

“I'm going to the car to get the stuff,” Bucky said, but he still smelt angry. Clint decided not to trust him. Angry alphas weren't safe.

“What's his name?” Bucky asked putting the supplies into a neat pile as he opened takeout bags, taking box after box of delicious smelling food out. He was staring at Clint, who was cautiously sniffing around, the kitchen, tail tucked tightly in between his legs. It was a bit of a struggle to investigate and keep an eye on Bucky at the same time.

“His name’s Clint,” Steve said, filling Clint’s bowls with water and omega food while he spoke.

It was food. But not the food Clint really wanted. He sat down and scratched his ear.

“Uhuh,” Bucky replied absently, watching Clint sit down, scratch a floppy brown ear, and sniff around some more.

“Clint! Come here, boy!” Steve was calling him, He glanced over, contemplated ignoring Steve, and then remembered Bucky. Bucky already didn't want him here- what would he think if Clint was disobedient and ignored his mate? He would take him back. Give him away. Fear was his motivation as he basically scurried over to Steve, ducking behind his legs.

“Good boy.” Steve patted Clint on the head and put his bowls down. Clint didn't eat, despite his grumbling stomach.

“Why isn't he eating?” Steve asked, and there was a grunt and the sound of rustling. Clint had no idea what was happening, but then Bucky said, “ _'Omegas may avoid eating until alphas have given them explicit permission or left the room in fear of an alpha becoming angry_.' Seriously? You couldn't just get a normal omega?”

_Normal?_ Clint could do normal. He began scarfing the food down, despite how it seemed to stick in his throat, each dry pellet crunching between his teeth. The large bowl was empty within minutes and Clint couldn't decide between relief and nausea. This was way more food than they had given him at the shelter.

Then Steve filled his bowl back up and he seemed to lean more towards nausea. _They didn't expect him to eat more, did they?_

“Steve, are you sure we should do that?”

“You saw how fast he scarfed down that food and look at how twiggy he is. He's definitely hungry. C’mon Clint, eat it you want.”

Clint wanted to be left alone, but there was no way either alpha would do that unless he showed he was trustworthy. What was more trustworthy than eating the food given to you?

Clint got about halfway through the bowl before his stomach seriously protested and heaved, throwing up. The pellets tasted even worse coming up.

“Oh, ew! Steve, I told you that you shouldn’t give him more food.” Bucky exclaimed, but Steve didn’t answer, and Clint knew why. He had just thrown up on the alpha’s shoes.

“He threw up on my shoes.” Steve sounded shocked, blinking and Bucky burst out laughing. _Laughter was good right?_ Clint tentatively wagged his tail, ignoring every instinct to run like and hide.

“Have fun cleaning that up.” Bucky snorted, and obviously, not all laughter was good because Steve smelt very, very upset meaning Clint had messed up again. He could fix this. All he had to do was clean Steve’s shoes. It smelt absolutely repulsive, and he really didn’t want to, but he didn’t want to be sent back.

“Just put him in his cage, Buck,” Steve said, looking down at his shoes in disgust.

_Oh no. Steve definitely wasn't happy_. Clint bristled warily, tail tucking back as the large alpha walked towards him. He bared his teeth in a warning that Bucky paid no attention to.

“I know you won’t bite me,” Bucky said lowly, and Clint just snarled. It was true.

* * *

 

_He hadn’t bitten anyone since his early shelter days, and when he had been taken out for the first time, a couple of alphas had taught him how unacceptable it was to bite with a nice placed kick to the jaw. Luckily, those had been his baby teeth. It had still hurt and bled quite a bit._

* * *

 

Bucky picked him up like he weighed nothing, and despite all of Clint’s struggling and snarling, didn’t let go, walking towards the dreaded cage.

No, no, no...Bucky forced him into the cage easily, but gently, locking it. Clint wanted to whine, but he didn’t. He wished he hadn’t thrown up or eaten so much and his heart was pounding in his chest louder and louder in his ears with every passing second.

“You’re not going to take him back, are you? Anyone omega that throws up on your shoes is automatically my favorite.” Bucky inquired stopping to wet a towel at their sink.

“No, of course not. It was just one pair of shoes. I asked you to put him in the cage so he wouldn’t try to eat anymore. I saw him eyeing the throw-up.” Steve took the towel from Bucky and bent down to start wiping his shoes.

“Oh well, should I take him out then?”

“No, just leave him in there to cool down. We can read the manual while he’s in there without making him uncomfortable.”

_No, please don’t leave...Not again._ Clint threw himself at the bars of the cage, but the only thing that gave out was his own legs. He'd been left in the cage before.

* * *

 

_It had been his second owners. He didn't know what happened, except one day the just packed up and left him locked in the cage with nothing except for a bowl of food and half a bowl of water. He'd been in there for a week or so, laying in his own feces and piss and so dehydrated that he was truly considering drinking his own pee before the omega catchers figured out and found him. They had been furious to see him, but they had given him food and water and given him a bath, so they couldn't have been that angry._

* * *

Clint gnawed on the bars, knowing full well it wouldn't do anything, but chewing helped calm his anxiety a bit. Steve and Bucky weren't his second owners. They were his fifth. And there was no reason for them to leave him to die in his cage when all they had to do was return him to the omega shelter.

“What the hell is he doing, Steve?” Bucky’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“I don't know! I'm reading!” Steve was rapidly flipping the pages of The Keeping and Caring of Abused Omegas. “Biting...biting…Abused omegas may bite themselves or their surroundings when feeling anxious or intimidated. It is impertinent that you immediately put a stop to this behavior, especially if your omega is harming themselves. Calm your omega with soothing tones and words and if they become anxious, do not yell at them. Reward non-biting fear behavior with a treat.” Steve read aloud, and although Clint didn’t understand all the words, he was pretty sure he got the gist. Biting was fun, though.

Steve unlocked his cage door, and Clint immediately charged out, running straight past both Steve and Bucky despite their calls. “Clint, wait! Just calm down!” Clint ignored them and kept running, speeding through the kitchen and zooming underneath the nearest object with space: the couch. His heart thudded in his chest as the two alphas followed him to the couch. They didn’t attempt to make him come out forcefully, Bucky rather cooing and waving a treat in Clint’s line of sight. However, the very thought of eating again made him feel like throwing up again.

“Bucky, let’s just leave him. He’ll come out when he feels safe.” Steve sounded hurt, but he was the one who had wanted Bucky to put him in the cage, so Clint only felt slightly bad. There was creaking as Bucky and Steve sat down on the other side of the couch and the same rustling sound as they read their manual.

Clint waited under the couch for about twenty minutes and when nothing happened, slowly poked his head out. He waited for another minute and when neither Bucky nor Steve did anything, he slowly slid out. It appeared that the two alphas were asleep, which made sense. A lot of his owners fell asleep reading. Perhaps books weren’t all they were made out to be.

* * *

 

_His third owner had a tendency to fall asleep reading. She had two tiny alphas and a third on the way and had decided an omega would be a good idea. So she adopted Clint. Everything had been perfect until she had the baby alpha. All the already limited time that she had for Clint...she devoted it to her baby alpha. Then a male alpha moved into the house, and just like that, Clint was booted out and back at the omega shelter._

* * *

 

Clint himself didn’t know where he was supposed to sleep, so he just settled in the corner, closing his eyes and enjoying the silence.

He woke up the next morning to the smell of delicious alpha food that he doubted he would get to enjoy. Both Steve and Bucky were in the other room, and Clint cautiously padded in keeping himself close to the ground. They didn’t seem to notice him, at least not until Bucky turned around and nearly stepped on him.

“Whoa, careful there,” Bucky warned, backing up to give Clint some space to pass. Clint quickly moved out of the way, going to his food bowl. It was empty and his stomach was too, but if they didn’t have his food ready yet, he wasn’t going to complain. On the contrary, he did need to empty was his bladder.

“Breakfast is ready!” Steve said cheerily, turning off the fire. Whatever he had in his pans smelt delicious and just made his stomach rumble even more. “Bucky, feed Clint.”

“What? C’mon, he’s yours.” Bucky whined, but he was already opening the bag of omega food. He poured less than yesterday into Clint’s bowl, which was fine with Clint, although he didn’t eat, looking at the brown-haired alpha expectantly.

“Go ahead. Eat. You don’t need permission.” Bucky turned his back on Clint, and at his words, Clint began eating wishing he could be having alpha food as he ate the bland, tasteless food. He was pretty sure there wasn’t even real meat.

“Want some bacon, Clint?”

_Bacon?!_ Clint’s tail began wagging rapidly, immediately ditching his food to go to Steve. As he said, he did have bacon, and although Bucky gave Steve a disapproving look, he took the slice and ate it with much joy.

While Bucky and Steve ate their breakfast, Clint waited for them to finish, laying under the table and eating any offering that Steve gave him under the table. (Another strip of bacon, a handful of eggs, and two tiny squares of a delicious pancake.)

After breakfast, Bucky took him outside, which was good because he really needed to pee, and didn’t want to do it inside the house. He took a good minute sniffing around and trying to find exactly which patch of the fenced yard he wanted to use as a marking spot.

Nothing bad had happened so far. Steve and Bucky were caring. They gave him nice treats and didn’t force him into the cage. Plus, Steve gave him bacon. Clint was laying on the couch (much to his joy, he was allowed onto the couch) when Bucky called his name and took Clint to the door. He opened the door,

“Steve, I’m going to train him. We’ll be back in an hour or so.” Clint’s anxiety skyrocketed a bit. House training had been easy. The rest of the things...well, he was lucky that his fourth alpha had been patient (and easily the best owner he had ever had). He hadn’t done all of his tricks in awhile, so hopefully, he remembered them.

“I’d like to see this.” Steve snorted, following Bucky to the yard. He settled down in the chair on the porch while Bucky took Clint further out into the grass.

“Okay…sit,” Bucky ordered, and Clint sat. That was easy.

“Lie down?” It took a tiny moment for this one to register to Clint, and he hesitantly slid down from his sitting position to belly on the ground. Bucky’s grin made Clint’s tail wag a bit.

“Roll over.” Clint rolled, confidence growing as he did so.

“Either you’re a miracle worker or this dog is already trained.” Steve piped up from the porch, and Clint couldn’t help but feel pride as well.

“Um...fetch!” Bucky picked up a ball and flung it towards the other side of the yard. Clint took off after the ball, memories blurring at the command.

* * *

 

_His fourth owner had been named Phil. Phil was amazing. Balding, nondescript, calm yet gentle and caring. He has taken one look at Clint at the omega shelter and said, “He’s the one.” He took Clint home, took care of him. They did everything together. Walked together, exercised together, played together, watched movies together. Phil even let Clint sleep in his bed._

_Then one day, everything crumbled. One late night, Clint woke up to the noise of a breaking window. He had snuck out of the bed and crept out of the room. Three people were in the living room, dressed in all black. One of them had a large stick and the other two were looking through Phil’s things, large bags in hands. A growl started in Clint’s throat as he watched the three, and they immediately wheeled around._

_“Oh shit, an omega.” One of them whispered, freezing._

_“What do we do? Want me to shoot it?” The other whispered, looking to the alpha with the stick._

_“No. Let’s take it. Might be worth a pretty penny.” The alpha said gruffly, stepping towards Clint and swinging the stick as an obvious threat. Clint shuffled backward, growling even louder._

_“Quiet, mutt.” The alpha snapped, which was when Phil’s bedroom door swung open and Phil stepped out in his pajamas, gun in hand._

_“Freeze,” Phil said coolly, and all three alphas did, the one with the stick even dropped the stick. “The police will be here any second. You three-“_

_“Four.” A chilling voice, and then a loud bang. Phil crumpled to the ground, clutching at his chest. The smell of blood and metal and acidic smelling powder filled the air._

_Phil didn’t move._

_“You idiots. It was a simple job. Grab the omega and take what you have.” The fourth alpha snarled, and the three other ones quickly did what they were told, the smell of fear beginning to_ scent _._

_The alpha with the stick grabbed Clint, despite Clint’s snarling and thrashing. Clint sunk his teeth into the alpha’s hand, but the alpha just kept going, running with the others and throwing Clint into the back of the van._

_The sound of sirens became louder but faded as the van kept speeding._

_“That son of a bitch bit me!” The alpha yelled angrily, ignoring Clint’s loud scrabbling in the back._

_“It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t messed up, dumbass.” The cold alpha replied._

_“We weren’t supposed to kill anyone!” Another alpha shouted, sounding appalled._

_“Oh, so now you’re protesting it. Didn’t seem to have a problem with it yesterday.” One of the others said._

_“All of you shut up. What’s done is done. Take a picture of the mutt. We’ll sell the omega, then we’ll split the profits. Then you fools can forget about it.”_

_Except that wasn’t what happened. The alphas muzzled Clint and left. Then they didn’t return. Clint tried everything to tear off the muzzle from banging his head on the door to trying to pull it off, but it was stuck and he decided that almost all alphas were evil, especially the one who invented the muzzle._

_He was found two days later by one of Phil’s friends, Nick, and although Nick kept him for a day or two, he never took him back to Phil and dropped him off at the omega shelter._

_Clint didn’t like to think about that night or what happened to Phil._

* * *

 

“Clint? Clint? What did I do?” Bucky’s worried voice filtered into Clint’s ears, and Clint shook his head, blinking at Bucky. He was back inside, but he didn’t remember going in or being carried in.

Steve was on the phone, talking to someone. “Yeah, I don’t know what happened. Bucky just threw a ball and told Clint to fetch, Clint ran after the ball, and he had just jumped to catch it mid-air when he developed a blank look on his face. He kinda just...fell. Wha- no, we brought him back inside. He-“ Steve looked back at Bucky and Clint. “He looks better now. Should we still-?” Steve frowned, being cut off again. “Okay. We’ll keep an eye on him. If he does it again, we’ll bring him right over.” Steve hung up, and Bucky looked at him expectantly. His hands were deep in Clint’s short hair, scratching softly, which Clint liked.

“What’d Thor say?” Bucky smelt oddly anxious,

“Sounds like a flashback…he thinks it was triggered when you said: “fetch.”

“What kinda sick fuck hurts their dog while saying the word fetch?” Bucky sounded furious, the smell of anxiety going to anger and sadness rapidly. Clint flinched, waiting, but Bucky never did anything, just continuing to stroke through his hair.

“I don't know, Buck, but I hope they got arrested.”

Clint decided that Bucky and Steve were a bit weird. They seemed to always smell angry and sad, yet never did anything to him despite the fact that he could be used as a punching bag.

As they got ready in the morning, doing their normal alpha things, Bucky fed Clint, took him out, and then settled on the couch to watch TV with him.

“Have fun at work, sweetheart!”

“Pray that Mr. Stane doesn't fire me, more like it,” Steve replied, giving Bucky a kiss and then leaving.

Bucky had lots of opportunities to hurt Clint, but he never did. Instead, he just played tug of war with Clint, slept a lot, and watched more TV. The hours seemed to drag on and on before Steve finally came home, and Clint was excited right along with Bucky because Steve was fun and apparently gave awesome belly rubs and gave Clint alpha food, despite Bucky’s disapproving looks. Then they ate, took Clint out, and once again didn't make Clint go into the cage. Bucky pulled out a giant, soft, plush, cushy omega bed and laid it down in their bedroom.

“For you.” He said to Clint, and that was where he slept now.

The next week was good, maybe even great.

He liked the routine: wake up, eat, pee, play, sleep, watch TV, sleep, eat, walk (once a week), pee, bathe (but only thrice a week, luckily), play, then sleep even more. He liked Bucky and Steve, he loved his bed. He loved that someone was always home. Sometimes with his other owners, he would have to stay home alone and lonely. The best part: they never made him go in the cage, nor did they leave him, and they didn't beat him either.

And then one day, Steve came home, put a purple collar around his neck, and said, “Welcome to the family, Clint.”

Clint loved Steve and Bucky.


	2. Natasha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA the time Pine accidentally deleted a chapter. I'm so stupid. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for the response on this. I never expected 50+ kudos, honestly. Additionally, I couldn't imagine Natasha as a canine-like omega, like Clint, so I took a more feline approach to her. What do you guys think?
> 
> TW: Implied rape, abuse, non-consensual body modifications.

Natasha didn't like cold, yet she was under a bridge, in the snow, in one of the coldest times of the year. She had been dumped, rejected, abandoned, and it wasn't her fault. She was adapting though. She could adapt. It was one of her best traits.

So she sat in the snow and waited, but for exactly what, she had no idea. ”Clint! Clint! No, don't run off!” She stiffened. An alpha, not too far away. Then she relaxed, settling down. Although alphas were strong and tall, omegas had the speed advantage. If any alpha tried to hurt her again, she could be gone in seconds.

Upon hearing a sharp whine, Natasha sat up. There was an omega, obviously wanting to get under the bridge, but asking for permission. He had floppy brown ears, short, sandy hair, and clear grey eyes. He shivered, eyes darting back and forth nervously as he stood in the snow, but he looked pretty good for- the collar around his neck. He wasn't a stray omega at all. _He must be Clint._

Natasha growled and bared her teeth in an obvious _get lost_ gesture. Clint darted under the bridge anyway, obviously ignoring her aggression. _Your own ris_ k. Natasha immediately pounced, scratching Clint on the nose.

Clint yelped, scrambling back, then pausing and bouncing back in. Natasha tried to make herself even more clear. She hissed, showing her teeth, but Clint was apparently stupid, so he just stood there head tilted and blood dripping from his nose.

“Clint! Come out, boy!” The alpha was even closer and Natasha was on the verge of kicking Clint out from underneath the bridge when Clint began to leave. He darted away, out into the snow. “Clint! Stop!” The alpha yelled, and Clint came barreling back under the bridge, gave Natasha a smug look, and waited.

She was trapped. She had to choose between icy cold water that she was not looking forward to swimming in or an annoying omega and his likely untrustworthy alphas. She looked back at the river as the running footsteps began louder and nearer.

“Clint, you've got to stop running off like that. What happened to your nose? You're bleeding?” The alpha panted, (blond, tall, and obviously strong) bending over to grab Clint’s leash, which was when he made eye contact with Natasha. “Oh. You made a friend.”

Natasha hissed loudly to let the alpha know that _, no, we are not friends, get away from me_. “Aw, don't be scared. I won't hurt you. Just come out into the light a bit…” The alpha reached his hand under the bridge, and Natasha promptly bit him on the hand.

“Ow! Okay, I get it. I won't do that anymore.” The alpha was backing away slowly, dragging Clint along with him. She saw him turn around and take out one of his electronic communication devices, or phones as alphas liked to call them. She found them rather fascinating, but they were, unfortunately, an easy way for alphas to assemble. “Hi, Thor. I found a stray omega under a bridge. Yeah. Female. She's very angry and hissy. She bit me and clawed Clint. Yeah, I’ll-”

Natasha took off, crashing into the alpha's legs, and bounding down the street with ease. No one was going to catch her if she had anything to say on the matter. She didn't move far from the area, rather moving into the treeline of the nearby woods.

Within a few minutes, alphas were in the area, looking around. They were making a huge racket, walking around with their catch poles and nets. Natasha just watched, sitting as still as possible, blending in as much as she could with her bright red hair.

The blond-haired alpha from earlier was still talking into his communication device, which Natasha thought was a bit odd. She had been positive that he had used it to call the omega catchers, but they were already there, so why was he still using it? He seemed to be arguing with whoever was on the other side.

A stick cracked behind her, and Natasha turned around just in time to barely dodge the net. She couldn’t believe that she let them get that close. She ran again, this time back towards the bridge. She could swim across the river and-

She choked as she was forced to a stop by a loop around her neck. Another blond alpha, this one with long blond hair was the culprit. “Sorry.”

* * *

Natasha hated Clint and his owner. She could have been sleeping peacefully underneath the bridge, but that sandy-haired omega just had to come and ruin everything. Long blond, Thor, was talking to the shorter blond, Steve, while Clint laid at his feet. And Natasha? She was stuck on an examination table.

“As you can see, her ears are ripped and she has some mild scarring around her neck and along her back. It’s a sign that she was once a fighting omega and then was retired for whatever reason.”

_A fighting omega? She was not just a fighting omega as they crudely put it. She was the best fighting omega in her whole area._

* * *

 

 _She remembered her first match: a very young pipsqueak of an omega with weird eyes. She remembered her first and last defeat: She could still see the reddish eyes if she blinked hard enough as the air was knocked out of her and the alphas cheered loudly. Two on one? She had taken more than two, but for some reason, she was just having so much trouble keeping up with the pair of them_.

* * *

 

“Really? But she’s so tiny.”

“Aye, it’s rare to see fighting omegas of her...breed, to say. Regardless, it’s illegal. Additionally if we…” Thor was lifting her tail, and Natasha instinctively struggled.

No, no, no, not again. She never had children no matter how many times they bred her, and she knew exactly why. They did something to her when she was still a fighter and it left her feeling empty. They had taken away her ability to reproduce, but she didn’t know why. Alphas were often cruel for no other reason than to be cruel, she had concluded. Then, she adapted. 

“Calm down girl…” Steve was petting her, and she didn’t hesitate to claw his hand, still trying to tear herself out of Thor’s grasp.

* * *

_Everything smelt wrong from the scents of fear and heat in the breeding place. They were all in cramped cages, and they were only given food and water every couple of days. At least the alphas were kind enough to clean out their cages and keep them clean, but Natasha suspected that had less to do with taking care of omegas and more with trying to save their own nostrils._

_Every time she was breed, she struggled, she fought, clawed, bit for everything she was worth. Every time, the alphas won. She adapted._

* * *

 

Thor finally retreated, but Natasha continued bristling, hissing loudly.

“Breeding omega. Likely illegally done by someone without a license and no experience, because all they had to do was take a good look at her belly and see that she’s had her uterus and ovaries removed, once again probably illegally. It’s likely they threw her onto the streets after they realized she wasn’t reproducing like they would have liked.”

"Who the hell would something like that?” Steve sounded outraged. As if he didn't know that there were at least twenty other female omegas in the fighting rings unable to reproduce-- just like her. 

“There are some disturbed people in this world. I can’t see anything wrong other than the obvious, but I’m not a vet. She still has to be checked out and behaviorally tested before you can take her home. I’ll call you when I get an update, Steve.”

Take her home? “Sure thing, Thor. C’mon Clint, we have to go to the store to buy some supplies. Then to get takeout to bribe Bucky.”

* * *

"Mommy! I want that one!” A squeal woke Natasha up from her brief doze and she wondered exactly when she had fallen asleep and for how long.

Natasha despised the shelter. True, it wasn’t the worst place she had ever been by a longshot, but the omegas were annoying. Desperate. Every time an alpha walked into the room, they all ran to the front of their cages, tails wagging and some of them, the ones more like her, purring and rubbing their heads against the bars. They were humiliating, in her opinion.

She hadn’t appreciated the “check-up” (mostly because it came with a bath) but grudgingly decided that behavioral was okay (because they gave her food). She knew the routine-- act sweet and calm for the ones in charge and the moment she was out, run to the furthest place possible.

“Are you sure, sweetie? It says here...no, you can’t have this one.” The older alpha quickly pulled her child away, easily distracting her with another omega. Natasha sniffed. She hated children anyway.

The day slowly progressed and everytime an alpha approached her cage, they would see whatever was written on the front and walk away. Alphas are awful anyway, Natasha told herself but she couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t want her. She knew she was pretty-- beautiful even-- so why wasn’t anybody picking her? Ginger hair was rare. _Maybe the alphas didn’t like ginger as much as her others had. Maybe she just wasn’t good enough. She didn’t fight very much anymore. Not since the breeding-_

“Hey.” Natasha slowly looked up to see the same alpha from earlier, Steve, peeking into her cage. _Him again_? “You’re coming home with me. It’s going to be great, I hope. I’m sure you and Clint will get along swell, and Bucky agreed,” Steve spoke in a low voice, blue eyes kind. Natasha didn’t hiss at him, slightly confused. He was joking, right? _He expects me to get along with that annoying omega from earlier?_

Yet Thor put her in a cage and next thing she knew she was sitting in the car next to annoying omega: Clint. He sniffed at her. She growled at him.

* * *

 

_She was in the pit, in the cage. She slammed against the bars, snarling savagely._

_“Ready? Set...fight!” An alpha yelled, and she flew out of the cage, body screaming for blood. They had trained her for it from the moment she was born. She craved it, the scent of freshly spilled- blood. Her opponent was bleeding already. He was tiny, shrimpy. Long, soft, floppy ears, one already bleeding. He had taken one look at her and immediately tried to run back to his cage just to find it was locked. And Natasha was on the prowl, growling lowly as she approached him. She leaped, and all she heard was yelping and cheers of the alphas for the rest of the match._

Steve had to pull over to stop Natasha from attempting to bite Clint from inside her cage.

* * *

“Steve! This is the third glass in the last week! Fix this omega or she’s leaving!” Bucky shouted, slamming the room door behind him at the sound of shattering glass.

Steve sighed and Natasha jumped from the kitchen sink to the floor, to under the couch in a matter of seconds.

Bucky and Steve were nice. They obviously cared for Clint, they didn’t expect her to fight, or breed, or kick her if she got in the way, but they had a problem. They were too nice. They let her have her space, they didn’t care if she hissed or growled, and they apparently didn’t care if she smashed one of their weird water bowls here or there. So, she started testing them. They were nice when she was nice, but what about if she was mean? How alphas acted under pressure was the real test.

“Natasha, you gotta stop doing this.” Steve spoke lowly, not even attempting to reach under the couch to get her. Good. He can learn. Last time, she clawed his hand to hell.“I really like you. I wanna keep you. But Bucky can’t handle a lot of stress. And I checked the handbook, and I know you’re doing it to test us, but those days are over. We won’t hurt you.” With that, he walked away, presumably to go comfort Bucky.

A whine sounded from right outside the couch, and Natasha growled. _Clint_. He pushed something underneath the couch and walked away.

It was a dead bird.

Natasha enjoyed the peace offering very much.

* * *

 

Natasha hated baths. So it was no surprise that when Steve yelled, “Bath time-” she ended up hiding again. This time under the alpha's beds. To her surprise, it was already occupied by Bucky.

“Hey. You hiding from bath time too?” Bucky asked, and Natasha just stared at him. “I didn’t mean to be all rude earlier. I was going to spend some time with you, I swear, but you just kept smashing my glasses. I don’t like the sound of breaking glass,” Bucky continued gruffly, and Natasha flicked her ear before sticking her nose in his hair _. Apology accepted. I’m sorry for breaking your odd water bowls._

Natasha stopped breaking things after that.

* * *

“You ever think that this is all we really wanted?” Steve asked, cuddling against Bucky.

“What, two sassy omegas?” Bucky retorted, which was when Clint jumped onto his lap, knocking the wind out of the brown-haired alpha. Natasha settled on Steve's lap, not even hissing when Clint happily licked her ear. They had become a lot more tolerable of each other recently, and Clint was even nice enough to share his bed with her. He made for a great nightly heater, which was perfect for Natasha. She hated cold.

“No, jerk. A family.”

Natasha considered Steve’s words for a long time. _Family._

She liked it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos would be very much enjoyed, but are always optional :)
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> -Pine


	3. Bruce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is so awful. Writer's block kicked me in the ass. 
> 
> I kinda imagine Bruce as a St. Bernard type. (Except one of his eyes is green and the other is brown.)
> 
> TW: Experimentation (not very graphic), and (pretty graphic) "dog" fighting. Also electrocution (implied)

Bruce didn’t like the omega shelter. He still remembered exactly how he got there. Both times.

The first time, he had been really young, running away from the alphas who kicked him and stepped on him and made him fight other omegas. He still had a rip in his ear from his first fight that never healed and claw marks and bite marks from countless others. They would wind him up and let him go, furious, snarling and fighting but generally loosing.

One day though, everything changed.

* * *

 

_He had his teeth sunk deeply into an omega’s shoulder, growling furiously as he ripped and tore and the omega under him squealed for mercy as blood spilled -- sirens. “Shit, it’s the fuzz! Run!” an alpha yelled and everything erupted into chaos as more alphas wearing blue and yelling burst into the yard and Bruce let go of the omega under him and now even more alphas were flooding the yard, carrying poles and nets and Bruce knew what poles did. They emitted electric shocks, and Bruce knew because his alphas had used it on him before and it wasn’t something Bruce wished to endure again._

_He ran from the ring to the fence; he’d dug under before and the dirt still had to be loose, didn’t it? A loud yelp from another omega spurred him into action and he dug, digging faster than he ever had before._

_Dirt flew and as footsteps came closer, he pushed, wriggling under the fence and taking down the street in a matter of seconds. He never looked back._

_He lived on the street for a total of two days, eating alpha food from alleys and trash cans until they caught up with him and no matter how much he struggled, he was still trapped._

* * *

 

The second time was current and he had learned a few lessons from the time in between. For one, alphas were untrustworthy and would hurt you at any chance they got. They enjoyed hearing pain from omegas, for whatever reason. They were awful, with very few exceptions. Thor was one of those exceptions.

Then he met Clint. And then Clint was gone, never to be seen again and Bruce was left with a resounding emptiness.

He was laying in his cage, waiting for Thor to come. Thor usually took him out to play in the yard, so he jumped when a whisper of, “Hey there, big guy,” reached his ears. A long-haired alpha holding leashes in his hands stuck his fingers through the bars of the cage, and Bruce cowered, pressing himself against the back of the cage.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. Thor’s pretty busy right now, and I’m volunteering. Steve said that going out to do stuff would be good instead of just sulking inside. His words, not mind. I’m just here to take you to the yard,” the alpha rambled, and Bruce just stared at him. He didn’t know who Steve was, and he didn’t know who this alpha was. He wanted Thor.

The alpha unlocked the cage door, reaching in and Bruce let out yelp, whimpering loudly as the alpha grabbed his collar. _Please don’t, don’t. Don’t hurt me._ “Shhh...I’m not going to hurt you,” the alpha cooed, letting go of the collar and trying to gently pull him out of the cage. Bruce planted his feet. Nothing bad could happen to him in his cage. They left him alone when he was in his cage.

* * *

  
_The moment they were out of the shelter they drove away to a cold building full of omegas. They were pulling him, yanking him out of the cage and he was blinking in betrayal at the man who had stared at him in the shelter and turned to Thor and said, “He’s perfect.”_

_“What, did you think I’d actually love a freak of an omega like you?” The alpha snapped, and as Bruce resisted, his collar lit up like a firefly and he howled in pain as electricity ran through his body._

* * *

“Bucky, leave him. I’ll take him out later.” Thor was there, and the alpha, Bucky, was frowning and letting go and closing his cage. Thor was good. He was nice. He liked to play with Thor. He was gentle for his size and didn’t care that Bruce was a freak.

“Sorry, Thor,” Bucky muttered and handed the leash to Thor.

“Don’t be. Bruce here has had a bit of a complicated past. He doesn’t...well, I’ll tell you later,” Thor replied, and opened the door to the cage, clipping the leash to Bruce’s collar. He picked the large omega up with ease and as Bucky retreated, Bruce couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved.

Bruce didn’t like playing, and Thor was considerate. He would throw the tennis ball a few times, Bruce would retrieve it a few times, and then he would sit in the grass next to the omega. Sometimes he talked about his own omega, but most of the time it was just silence. Bruce liked silence.

The next day, Bucky was back, a steely, determined look in his eye that he didn’t like. “I’ll take you outside someday, big guy. I’ll be here all week, you know. I’ll grow on you eventually,” he muttered, taking out one of the other omegas, and Bruce just stared at him as he continued, “Thor told me about what they did. I can relate. They hurt me too, bud,” and the omega whose leash Bucky was holding tugged and the alpha walked away.

Bruce went to sleep during the busy hours. He dreamt of his time there and the needles and electric shocks. The smell of chemicals and fear and death and the cold metal of the tables. By the time he woke up, it was the next morning and Bucky was standing outside his cage, watching him. Bruce’s heart skipped a beat and he immediately pressed himself into the furthest side of the cage, watching a bit more than warily as Bucky simply said, “Just coming to fill up your bowls.”

 _Food_. He was hungrier than he thought he would be, but as he the bowls were filled and returned and he went to eat, he noticed Bucky was still standing there. Almost expectantly. Like they had back there when they had put something in his food or water or had some something and were waiting to see a reaction. What if Bucky was one of Ross’s friends, there to drag him back? Or worse, to get others to experiment on? He couldn’t be trusted.

Bruce sniffed the food but didn’t smell anything suspicious. He glanced up to see if any anger or annoyance crossed the alpha’s face, but none did like it had before with the others. His stomach rumbled. He decided to leave the food, walking away and curling back up. Bucky sighed and left after feeding the other omegas and Bruce didn’t see him again until yard-time.

He stuck a finger through the bars, but it disappeared as fast as it appeared when Thor entered. Then yard time. Then the typical flood of alphas that Bruce got completely ignored in every time. He didn’t even bother during these times, curling into a ball in his cage. No one liked freaks like him. It was a fact.

He was too big, too broken, he wasn’t even close to the best looking omega there. He didn’t play, he was a bit too smart, he had scars, he flinched if someone moved too fast. His eyes freaked people out. The list went on and on. 

As expected, no one came to his cage.

The next day, Bucky was there again, opening the cage with new food and taking out the old. “Hey. You gotta be pretty hungry. I didn’t poison the food or whatever you were thinking. Look, I’ll even-” the alpha picked up a piece of the crunchy omega food and ate it. His face was one of disgust when he finished swallowing.

“Oh, god that’s disgusting. That’s what they’re feeding you guys? Ugh. No wonder Clint likes our food so much more,” Bucky muttered, pouring water in the bowl, and Bruce tilted his head, wondering if he had heard wrong. Clint?

He took a deep breath and yes! Under the scent of other alphas and other omegas was the familiar, avian-smelling scent of his friend. Only Clint could smell that much like birds and not be one. Bucky closed the cage door, and Bruce watched him go, tail slowly thumping for the first time in a while. Clint had always been a good judge of character. Bruce deemed Bucky trustworthy.

Bruce liked routine. He enjoyed when things were predictable, whether it was from the time that he was taken out of his cage to the times he was fed, to the time that he spent in the test tank with Ross and all the other scientists.

So it completely threw him for a loop when Bucky came with a blond alpha. “That’s him?” The alpha asked, tilting his head, and Bucky nodded. “That’s gotta be the biggest omega I’ve ever seen,” the blond said, and Bucky nodded again.

“An omega that big has no business being scared of anyone. Yet he’s always there cowering.” Bucky said gruffly, and there was a pause. “Steve...I want him.”

“We already have two omegas. Three is too many,” Steve started but was cut off by the other alpha.

“No, you got two omegas. I never got my own. I want this one.”

“Bucky-”

“Steve,” Bucky snapped, and Bruce flinched back letting out a tiny cry. Steve gave Bucky a raised eyebrow look as if proving his point. Bucky’s shoulders drooped, and Steve’s face fell. Bruce didn’t know what really happened, except that he saw a quick flash of hand, and Bucky's near unnoticeable flinch. A snarl erupted from his throat and both Bucky and Steve jumped.

“That is exactly why we can’t have him. It says right there in his file that’s aggressive. We can’t have that with two other omegas, Buck,” The blond alpha sounded pained as he looked from Bruce back to the other.

“Steve...wait, no. You spooked him! That wasn’t his fault,” Bucky protested. “Give him another chance.”

“It’s not safe, Bucky,” Steve said firmly, and Bucky sighed and that was that.

The next day, Bucky didn’t come. Bruce knew he messed up. _Stupid. Stupid!_ He scolded himself, as he slowly ate, slurping up falling pieces with his tongue. _Did you honestly think that you would be doing yourself any favors? How did you think that was going to go? Why would you even think he was going to hurt Bucky?_ He was such an idiot.

“Bruce, what's wrong?” Thor asked, watching the omega mope.

Bruce just huffed quietly, keeping an eye on the long-haired alpha as he filled his water bowl. “Worried about being adopted? I'm sure it'll happen one day.” 

One day like it had happened before, perhaps. Except perhaps they would put him out of his misery, this time. It had almost happened once before.

* * *

 

_He didn’t know exactly why Ross was mad, but the alpha was mad and raging. “Every single one of those stupid omegas...drowned. Except you! How did you do it?” He screamed, towering over Bruce. He just bared his teeth weakly at Ross, who ignored him and went back to rapid pacing. Then he suddenly grinned, looking over at the alpha scientists. “Take some of his blood. Then try again.”_

_“A-are you sure, sir? The loss of blood will make him weaker and less likely to survive the cold temperatures of-“_

_“Did I ask to hear your opinion? We are on the verge of a scientific breakthrough!” Ross roared, and the scientists scrambled. They hooked Bruce up to some machine and he saw his blood draining and then the rush of freezing, icy water. He floundered, he flailed. He struggled and sank._

_In the end, he ended up coughing up more water than he even thought he could consume._

* * *

 

Bruce spent a lot of his day sleeping. He felt stupider than usual, still clinging on. He had known Bucky for about three days. Then discovered that Bucky knew Clint. Then subsequently messed up horribly.

“Hi. Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday.” Bruce looked up at the familiar voice, tail starting off at a slow wag. “It was Sunday. Steve likes to go to church. Pray about things, you know? I’m not the biggest believer, but I prayed that I’d get you out of here one day.” Bucky smiled, sticking his finger through the bars as usual. “You’re coming home with me today.”

Bruce was so happy that he was sure that his wagging was shaking the whole cage. 

* * *

 

Bucky’s house was nothing like he had expected, but then again. Spacious backyard, stairs (that Bruce refused to go up), and Clint. He didn’t realize how much he had missed him. Clint helped. He was there when Bruce got nervous from loud noises or yelling. He would lie down with Bruce, even if he wanted to play, knowing the other omega preferred to just stay calm, quiet, and still sometimes. He eventually helped Bruce accept Natasha.

He didn’t like Natasha. He recognized Natasha, back from his fighting days. She had been his first opponent. She was the one who tore his ear. He had been tiny, scrawny, and weak then. Now he was easily double her size.

She appeared to remember him too, by the way that she watched him. Wary, cautious. He was never out of her eyesight if he was close. She never really stopped doing it, even as they slowly began to tolerate each other, and he never really trusted her, although Clint tried his hardest to make them friends.

Feeding time was always exciting. Natasha would sneak some of Clint’s food, Clint would sneak some of Bruce’s. Steve acted as if he expected Bruce to gobble Clint up for taking his food, but Bucky always had faith in him. Even in the time when he growled at Natasha loud enough that it felt like the earth was shaking, and the time that the three of them chased off a home intruder, and the time that Bucky would clench his fists in Bruce’s curly hair and sometimes cry and Bruce would sit there silently and hear Bucky talk about the things they did to him. 

So it was the five of them. And they were some sort of pack, family maybe. It was Bruce’s first family, and he never wished to go anywhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose this only leaves Tony. Hm. Guess I gotta make it the most painful chapter!
> 
> Comments and kudos are optional, tho very much enjoyed!
> 
> (Also thanks for near 150 kudos and over 70 subscriptions!)


	4. Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long. It's been a pretty rough few months.
> 
> But here it is! Tried to make it as angsty as possible. Probably failed. But I hope someone is satisfied in the end.
> 
> It scares me that there are over 100 people who will get an alert when this chapter is uploaded. *Shudders*
> 
> TW: Implied torture & abuse...basically Tony's abandonment and self-worth issues, and lots of panic.

Tony shuddered, not daring to look at the blond alpha, Thor, as he watched his life fall apart. He was wet, he was tired, his chest ached, and he didn’t even have his master, Obadiah, to comfort him.

Obadiah was currently swarmed with red and blue lights, alphas yelling commands as they brought things out of the house, the tower, the place that Tony had lived for the majority of his life since alpha Yinsen died.

“Captain, I need a favor. There is no longer space at the shelter and I just got another omega. Have you looked at the news lately?”

So Tony went home with the Captain, the man cursing the whole time. He was angry, which was alright because Tony was made to sustain anger. Obadiah had taught him how to.

“Hey Buck, I’m sorry to spring this on you, but I got another omega. He- Obadiah Stane. I never thought that he- I never thought that anybody could do that to an omega. He has a fucking machine in his chest!”

Tony curled into himself further at the mention of the arc reactor. It wasn’t just a machine. It was a machine that helped his heart keep beating, just a little souvenir from the time he really, really, really pissed off Obadiah.

* * *

_“I swear Yinsen, sometimes it’s like you want me to put your little omega in the lab and dissect him. I know he can understand me, the little freak, but if you don’t help me, I’ll have no choice but to go ahead. Maybe I’ll just let him bleed out and die from those shards in his chest,” a man spat, slapping the omega as he spoke. “Maybe I’ll make you put him out of his misery yourself once you finish your weapon.”_

_Obadiah watched from a distance, face unreadable and hands behind his back as he watched._

_“I refuse to do this. I won’t build you weapons, Stane,” his alpha hissed. Tony was proud of Yinsen even as they took him and dunked him in water over and over. Tony didn’t like water._

_“I’m sorry, Tony,” Yinsen had said, and Tony had coughed up water as his alpha had started blueprints. “I’ll get you out of here.”_

_Tony always noticed he never said, “We’ll get out of here.”_

_He missed Yinsen._

* * *

"Tony. Tony?”

The omega blinked. How long had the Captain been calling his name? He was still hunched, curled up, and as the blond reached for him, he forced himself not to flinch, ducking his head. Obadiah would hit him if he had flinched.

“Let’s go.” The alpha didn’t hit him. Just picked him up and placed him on the floor. He didn’t need to tug with the leash, Tony was more than happy to follow. He was always happy to obey. Even if he wasn't.

“Just up these steps…”

“That's him?” Tony forced himself not to freeze. Another alpha, tall intimidating. Cold, even. “Not what I expected. He's a bit of a stud.”

“Thor said he used to be used for show before Howard died.”

 _Howard_. Tony missed Howard, in a way. Not like he missed Yinsen or Obadiah, of course. Howard had been his first alpha. Taught him, loved him, sometimes even played with him once in awhile. But more often than not, he was busy. Too busy to have time for Tony, so he'd spend his whole day locked in his crate just waiting.

“Where'd you put the others, Buck?” A small sniff of air revealed that the others had to be more omegas. Tony felt an uneasy shift in his stomach. What if they felt that he was there to replace them? What if they didn’t like him? _What if, what if, what if?_

“Locked up Bruce, put Natasha and Clint out. Is that fine?”

“It’s fine,” the blonde alpha assured, and Buck stepped out of the doorway, finally allowing Tony to get a good glimpse of inside. The house was decently sized, stairs leading to places that Tony knew he’d explore later, and it wasn’t huge like the other places he’d lived. Not to mention, it reeked of omega. He could tell there were at least three of them, but the scents seemed to intertwine sometimes, and some even seemed a bit stale, like they hadn’t been near the door lately.

“First things first…Feed him. Then maybe we can slowly introduce the others. See how they react.”

“They’re all decently friendly, Steve. They were nice enough to Bruce.”

“ _Clint_ was nice enough to Bruce.”

“You were the one who got Natasha, not me,” Buck huffed, and Tony hadn’t really been listening, mostly focusing on staying as still as possible (no one liked it when he fidgeted) and trying to memorize recurring names he heard the alphas say, so he was surprised when he glanced up and saw them staring at him. Had he done something wrong?

“He’s so quiet. And still. His tail doesn’t even wag,” he heard Buck say quietly, and a slightly angered look returned to Steve’s face.

“They trained him to be like that. Obadiah’s PA was the one who told. She said that she saw the training firsthand, but whenever she wanted to say anything, Stane threatened her. Her name was Virginia or something like that. She said that the only reason she told was that she was fed up and something about a guy named Rhodey.”

 _Virginia!_   _Rhodey!_ Those were two other names Tony knew. He liked Virginia very much. She was pretty and kind and smelled very good. She’d play with him when Obie was away a few times. Just the thought of her made him force his tail to stop trying to wag happily. Rhodey was amazing and he threw the best balls. He was very fast on his wheels and even though he would chastise Tony a few times, it never really meant anything.

He was not expecting to be suddenly picked up and forced himself not to yelp as thick arms pulled him from the ground, holding him to a warm chest, accompanied by a loudly beating heart.

“Bucky! You shouldn’t just pick him up like that!”

Buck(y?) shrugged, a movement that shifted Tony too. “Just making sure he secretly wasn’t a statue. It’s good, he has body heat.”

Steve just sighed, gave both of them a wary look, and walked into what Tony suspected was the kitchen from the delicious smelling aroma of alpha food coming from it, Buck(y?) following closely behind.

The sound of a can-opener had Tony’s ears perking without his permission and his stomach rumbled as he unconsciously licked his lips, wanting to squirm, but not doing it anyway.

Tony personally had things against dry omega food, and although he wasn’t the pickiest, he would only eat it if there was absolutely nothing else. Obadiah called him “spoiled” for it, but laughed anyway as he opened cans.

“Bucky, better put him down. He looks like he’s about to leap out of your arms anyway,” Steve said sounding as amused as Obadiah had. The moment his feet touched the ground, he raced to Steve’s feet, laying down and looking up hopefully.

The moment the bowl touched the ground, Tony began scarfing down the food, not caring what Steve had to say. Obadiah would have kicked him for eating without permission, but it had been days since he had had a good meal, so he ate anyway, pausing as Steve moved toward him.

The alpha didn’t kick him though, rather moving to stand next to Bucky. The two exchanged hushed conversation and as Tony finished the bowl without interruption, he heard scrabbling at the door and an incredibly loud whine.

“That’d be, Clint,” Steve sighed, shaking his head as he headed for the door. Tony felt bad for Clint; the other omega had obviously done something to warrant punishment for being locked outside. Tony had also spent many-a-nights locked outside in the backyard as rain poured down, so he could sympathize. Luckily, it wasn’t that cold outside, he supposed.

“Sorry, Clint. Give me a moment,” was all Steve said as he returned his attention to Tony, picking up the empty bowl from the ground. “Come on, Tony.”

Tony obediently followed the alpha, walking close to his side in an even “ _heel_ ” without a second thought.

“Looks like we don’t have to train this one, Stevie,” Bucky called from where he stood from the kitchen. Tony didn’t dare look back, he could already smell the faintest scent of anger and it made the machine in his chest feel unremarkably jittery. He didn’t know what he had done wrong. _Maybe the alphas don’t like me to walk next to them_. That had to be it. He slowed his pace until he was walking behind Steve.

* * *

 

 _Howard always made Tony walk behind him because he said that they weren’t close to equal and that he only walked side-by-side with his equals. He didn’t know what he was thinking when he had ever attempted it, but it had definitely earned a slap for his trouble. Oddly enough, Yinsen didn’t care when he walked as long as it was in his line of sight, which ruled out walking behind him. Obadiah personally preferred it when he walked right by his side. Sometimes when they were walking, he liked to stroke Tony’s hair or ears (and sometimes if Obadiah was in a particularly bad mood, he would grab Tony’s collar)._  

* * *

Steve sighed. “We’ll see.” _Is my training not suitable for what the alphas wish to use me for?_ Tony couldn’t help but wonder as he followed Steve into another room, which was filled with omega supplies- crates and leashes, collars and beds. There were even bags of treats and a large leg of a turkey, but it was upon a much higher shelf. The warning look Steve gave him was deterrent enough.

Without thinking twice about it, Tony claimed a bed. It was big and fluffy, spacious, and at Steve’s face of dismay, evidently not for him. He froze mid-laying down, in a sort of awkward, hunched position before Steve just sighed heavily (he sighed a lot), turned around, and closed the door, leaving Tony in a dark closet.

Tony could do the closet. It was barely a punishment, sometimes even a relief. At least he got a bed.

A loud crashing sound came from the kitchen and a surprised shout from Bucky and laughter from Steve, and Tony just curled up tighter trying to block it out, block out the tiny worm of jealousy that threatened to grow inside him. Of course, they didn’t want him. They already had three other omegas to have fun with, to use, to love.

One thing Tony learned early: _There’s never enough love to go around._

The thought put him to sleep, despite the minor throb in his arc reactor.

* * *

 

He woke up to the sound of a low growl and the hairs on his neck raised as he slowly looked up to find a pair of grey eyes staring at him. Tony had no idea how the other omega had gotten into the closet but he looked furious. _Who are you?_

Tony slunk out of the bed, not daring to look the other omega in the eye as he pressed his tail tightly to his stomach, a classic _don’t hurt me, I’m not worth your time._

Before the other omega could react, Tony heard Bucky yell, “Steve, can you make sure Clint isn’t in the closet again? You know he likes to get Bruce to open the door and get treats without permission and Tony-“

“Already on it, Buck!”

 _Oh no._ Tony and Clint simultaneously froze, Clint nervously licking his chops with a guilty glance at the treats on a shelf. Clint edged towards the shelf, grabbing the treat bag with ease, all earlier aggression seemingly vanished in a split second, though he seemed a bit apprehensive. _Want to share the spoils?_

It sounded like a horrible idea in Tony’s opinion and a surefire way to get himself kicked out of a house he wasn’t even sure he was welcome in. He declined and Clint bounded out of the closet, treats secure in mouth as Steve began chasing after him.

Tony barely had a second to move before he noticed a pair of bi-colored eyes staring at him. They disappeared as Clint scrambled up the stairs, Steve on his tail loudly proclaiming, “Clint stop!” and suddenly the closet became three times more crowded as a _huge_ omega and a (thankfully) much smaller one slipped into the closet.

The female omega climbed onto the back of the large omega, who was partially keeping one assessing eye on Tony and the other on the door as he easily lifted her. She jumped onto a shelf, grabbing the turkey leg and leaping back down before gracefully walking out, paying no attention to Tony at all.

Tony cowered a bit, very much aware that the exit was blocked and he was at the mercy of this- he blinked as a nose pressed into his neck almost persistently, followed by a slow bow.

Tony had no idea what was happening. He had no idea what the other omega wanted, or why he was bowing, or even why his tail was wagging. He had never seen another omega act this way— the ones he had seen at the shows were often rude and haughty or completely devoted to their owners and winning. None of them ever interacted with him, especially not this way.

So he stood stiff, staring, watching the large omega’s already slow wagging stop before giving Tony a slightly perplexed look.

“Natasha!” Bucky roared, followed by loud hissing, and the omega gave Tony one more glance before quickly padding out of the closet, closing the door behind him with a click, leaving Tony alone once more.

He had never been more confused in his life.

* * *

 

The three of them, Clint, Natasha the red-head, and Bruce with bi-colored eyes were all troublemakers, Tony later discovered, as he laid on the ground near the couch. Especially Clint. It was almost like they had no fear of consequence or punishment or even being given away. Tony figured that they wouldn’t, considering they had collars, but a collar didn’t guarantee a forever home. He of all omegas knew that.

So there he laid, watching Clint chase Natasha around the house, bumping into tables and chairs and walls every time he slipped on the hardwood floors. It was dizzying to watch them, and he apparently wasn’t the only one who thought so as Bruce let out a low, growly sounding huff from where he was laying on the couch.

Natasha came to a hard stop, Clint running straight into her and there was an awful sounding _crash_ as something fell to the ground.

Tony flinched, a quiver running through his body. He could already see it as the thundering of feet sounded from the stairs. The four of them were going to get yelled at, beat until they were black and blue, deprived of food and then locked in the closet, or maybe outside for days. Maybe even thrown onto the streets. And he’d only been there for a week.

* * *

 

_“Tony! My lab!” Howard screamed, and Tony slowly padded up to the alpha, tail wagging. He didn’t know what a lab was, but he did know that this room of alpha things was really cool. Alpha things also, when they hit the ground, could split into more alpha things! He wondered if Howard knew t- a yelp was ripped from him as a foot went straight into his side._

_“No! Bad Tony! We! Do not! Go into the lab!” Each sentence was accompanied by a kick and Tony learned his lesson about alpha things and labs and exactly why he shouldn’t touch them._

* * *

 

“Tony?”

There was a high whine. _Who was whining?_

Oh wait, that was him.

He could smell the anger.

He willed himself to stop whimpering and to stop trembling and just stop.

He faintly could hear Bucky yelling at the others, and next thing he knew, everything was descending into chaos as Bruce started screaming, a loud and completely desperate yelping sound, and the stench of fear among other things filled the room.

Tony just screwed his eyes shut tighter, tucking his tail firmly between his legs. He didn’t want to think about what could be happening to Bruce or what could happen to any of them.

Then silence.

Tony could hear his own harsh breathing and quiet whines, feel the unsteady thudding in his chest, but nothing further.

It was quiet.

He slowly opened an eye. Steve was sitting across from him on the ground, slowly stroking a spooked-looking Clint, a bag of treats by his side. He glanced at Tony, who quickly averted his eyes.

“Tony,” Steve called quietly, and Tony forced himself to his feet, slowly making his way over to the blond alpha, eyes fixed on the ground. He flinched slightly as a hand landed on his head, but it wasn’t hurting. It was stroking his hair.

“You’re not in trouble,” Steve’s voice was soft, “Bucky just got a bit upset. It was a vase from his ma that broke.” Steve sighed, sounding sad. “I don’t think it actually hurt that much. Bruce just automatically yelps even if it doesn’t hurt.”

He offered Tony a treat, and he gingerly took it, half expecting to get smacked. Steve didn’t smack him. Tony felt bad for Bruce. He was eating treats from the alpha’s hands and Bruce was presumably either chained outside or maybe locked in the closet. He felt almost grateful for a moment that it wasn’t him but immediately scolded himself for doing so. It should have been no one.

He didn’t look for Bruce. He understood the need to recover after being hurt.

* * *

 

He later heard Steve talking to Bucky about it as he stood in the hallway. Their bedroom door was open and he crept closer, despite feeling like he shouldn’t.

“-vase. You couldn't have helped it. And you’re going to anger management. You didn’t mean to step on Bruce’s tail.”

“He won’t even look at me, Steve,” Bucky sounded heartbroken. “He’s scared of me.”

“He probably knows you didn’t mean to hurt him. He’s fairly intelligent and kind-hearted. He just probably needed some space, which we were sure to give him afterward like the manual suggested. We did- Tony!” Steve broke off, sounding surprised and Tony froze in his steps. He wasn't supposed to be eavesdropping. How did Steve even see him in the hallway?

“Come here, buddy.”

Tony slowly walked through the doorway, walking straight up to Steve and placing his chin on the alpha’s lap, like he used to do with Obadiah. Steve’s eyebrows rose even further, Bucky nudging him ever-so-slightly, but he just ruffled Tony’s hair and said, “C’mon. Bathtime. Clint and Natasha have already had theirs.”

There was only one thing that Tony would fight Obadiah on: bathtime. Obadiah always found it funny, but Tony had seen first hand exactly what water could do, especially before Yinsen finished the arc reactor.

He would refuse to get into the tub and struggle and Obadiah would get either so frustrated that he would just spray Tony with the showerhead, let him go, or let one of his goons do it. It was awful when his goons did it. They didn’t care about Tony as much as Obadiah did and sometimes they would dunk his face in the water or splash water directly on his face just to see him panic.

 _No!_ Tony thought as Steve scooped him up effortlessly. He didn’t bother looking to Bucky for help because no matter what he did to Bruce, he was still scared crapless of the big, icy, alpha.

He struggled, squirming, but it was futile as Steve carried him to the bathroom anyway, placing him on the tile and immediately closing the door before turning on the water.

Tony pressed himself into a corner as the roar of water filled his ears, curling tightly into himself as Steve hummed a happy sounding tune, then turned to Tony, and as his hands latched onto Tony’s collar, he actually panicked, snapping and growling to try to cover the overwhelming fear that he was feeling. There was a split second where he clamped down on Steve’s hand and they let out almost identical yelps.

 _I can’t believe I bit him!_ Tony’s vision was blurry as he reeled back, suddenly all too aware of the beating of his heart and the sound of footsteps running towards the bathroom and the door was flung open and Tony ran like his tail was on fire, ducking past Bucky, running down the hall, and basically falling down the entire set of stairs.

He didn’t know where to hide, so he made a beeline for the closet.

He’d only ever bitten anything besides food once. Another omega called Justin. Justin had been what Obadiah liked to call “a sleazy piece of shit.” Tony hadn’t and never would feel bad for biting Justin. But this wasn’t Justin and this wasn’t Obadiah. This was a place where they already had no space for him and his brokenness or spazzy behavior. This was a place where they already had three other trouble-making omegas and didn’t need a third one to concern themselves with and if he didn’t show them that he could be good, he would probably end up back where he was before Obadiah owned him: a lab. Except, this time, Yinsen wouldn’t be there to save him and it was Tony’s fault that he was dead.

Tony wished he wasn’t always such a useless screw-up.

At a concerned-sounding whimper, Tony whirled around to see Clint and Natasha standing behind him. _Is that blood?_

_What happened?_

Tony couldn’t answer their questions, folding his ears back and crouching lower. Natasha’s green eyes narrowed, tail lashing wildly as she stepped forward.

_You bit the alpha._

Clint’s mood of concern faded into a more aggressive, suspicious mood, baring his teeth ever-so-slightly. Tony knew he was screwed.

Clint was one of the most loyal omegas he had ever met, and he could tell from just one week, which was exactly why he knew he was screwed: the blond would probably rip out his throat.

 _It was an accident! I got scared..._ Tony tried to explain, frantically looking between the two. Between Natasha’s rapidly arching back and Clint’s quiet growling, he knew that he was ducking lower and lower. He couldn’t expose his belly-- that would risk the reactor.

 _Ignore them. They just try to intimidate anyone who they think poses a threat to the alphas._ A low huff escaped Bruce as the large alpha rounded the corner, watching the scene a bit warily. _They did the same to me. They won’t harm you. Clint's actually a big softie._

 _Bruce!_ Clint’s whine was partially annoyance, partially playful, but Bruce just gave him a look, positioning himself between Tony and the others.

Tony was bewildered by the sudden turn of events as Bruce licked his ear and suddenly Clint bounded over, nearly squashing him and Natasha watched him a safer distance than in his face.

 _We know it can be hard to control yourself in situations where you feel fear, but if you do freak out, don’t be scared. The alphas are merciful. They’ve never so much as deprived me of food,_ Clint advised.

 _Alpha Steve is rather durable. I’m sure he’ll be fine,_ Natasha added with a soft, but not quite affectionate, purr, _I used to claw him all the time._

 _And Alpha Bucky is rather kind too. When he loses his temper, he never hurts us on purpose. You don’t have to worry,_ Bruce chimed in, tail thumping the floor in a reassuring fashion.  _I'd protect you_ , seemed rather unspoken since he didn't really say it aloud, but Tony got what he was saying.

“I wonder what they're saying down there.” Tony stiffened slightly at the sound of Steve’s voice from upstairs, but Clint wagged his tail, despite not moving from his position around Tony.

“Probably having a cult meeting,” Bucky replied dryly, and that was that. Tony wasn’t forced to have a bath. Steve sprayed him with warm water from the shower smelling sad and salty and angry.

(Tony suspected it either had to do with him or with whatever alpha Thor said through their communication devices.)

* * *

 

It was kinda weird, he realized. Having a pack, of sorts. He had previously spent almost no time with omegas. Now he was stuck at the bottom of a pile as Steve and Bucky watched the television. Bruce licked his hair and Natasha sat proudly upon Clint's back, rising and falling with Clint's steady breathing.

He had never really had a real family.

He wondered if this was what love felt like.

_(Turned out there was enough to go around here.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be doing a chapter for Loki, however, I have thought about writing a sort of short story and/or bonus scene fic, but I will not do it if no one is interested. So if you'd like to see that, maybe say it in a comment or something? 
> 
> Anyway, that concludes "The Keeping and Caring of Abused Omegas" and thank you so much for reading :) I'm extremely grateful for the sheer amount of kudos, comments, and bookmarks I received on this story.
> 
> See ya,
> 
> -Pine


	5. Loki (BONUS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki makes some mischief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive...oddly enough.
> 
> Have a happy, cracky chapter that I wrote two months ago. I'm working on a huge angst project so this'll be the last chapter.

“Thank you so much for this, James and Steven. I know this is short notice, but my father has become gravely ill, and with my mother gone, I must go to him. Loki doesn’t do well with air travel and I cannot take care of both him and my father.” Thor’s expression was grateful as he rolled the crate into their house, continuing, “Loki should be no problem. As long as you feed him, he should be a little angel.”

“Got it, Thor, it’s no problem. Good luck. I hope your father gets better.”

Thor nodded, gave Steve and Bucky one last watery grin, and left.

Bucky closed the door. “It’s only a week. This will be a breeze.”

(How wrong he was.)

* * *

_**DAY 1** _

Clint did not trust this new omega. Loki was too perfect, cuddling up to Steve and Bucky, purring, eager for bathtime, and always ready to play. It was almost like he was trying to replace the four of them, which had Tony and Bruce anxious, Natasha angry, and Clint...well, saying that Clint was angry was almost an underestimation.

Clint did not trust him one bit.

So it was a surprise when he stumbled into the alpha’s guest room and Loki was waiting for him, perched upon the bed.

 _Clint,_ Loki purred, green eyes glinting in a mischievous manner.

Clint didn’t like that look on the omega’s face.

 _Loki,_ he growled back, slowly moving further into the room.

 _These aren’t yours,_ was all Loki said before pulling out Clint’s collection of soft alpha belongings. Clint paled. He wasn’t supposed to have theses. Sometimes he stole things from Steve and Bucky’s “laundry” (aka good-smelling alpha clothes that they fed to the machine of flowery-scents) and hit them in the guest room because they never guessed to check in there. How had Loki found them?

 _I need a favor, Clint._ Loki grinned as Clint’s grey gaze turned to him, furious and slightly confused. He hadn’t done anything to Loki, so why was the other omega trying to blackmail him?

 _Clint. I need a favor,_ Loki repeated before putting a sock from the pile and unsheathing his claws. _Now._

***

Clint grumbled as he slipped through the omega door and out into the yard, forcing himself under the fence through Bruce’s emergency escape and bolting down the street.

 _This way, mutt,_ Loki called from further on the fence.

It turned out that within the first day of being there, Loki had started an argument with a few stray omegas and “needed backup.” They were far from home within an hour and downtown. And then Loki led him into a dark alley.

 _Your saviour has returned,_ Loki crowed as he entered and Clint heard at least four hisses as omegas slunk out from the shadows, immediately surrounding the two.

 _You again! Leave! You’re not welcome here!_ One of them snarled and a bad feeling grew in Clint’s stomach.

 _Yeah! This is our territory. You’re just a spoiled, house-omega,_ another added. The third was glaring at Clint through slitted eyes.

 _Have it your way,_ Loki said with a sigh and Clint realized a second too late that the black-haired omega was bonafide insane. Loki lashed out at one of the omegas, leaped over the one behind him, and dashed down the street, leaving Clint alone with four angry omegas.

Clint tried for a laugh, backing up as they hissed and spat and bristled like Natasha always did. Except when Natasha did it, he never felt like he was going to be cut upon and feasted upon.

All for of them flung themselves at Clint before he could even say anything, screeching. As claws tore into his flesh, Clint yelped, turned tail, and ran like his tail was on fire. Right out into the street. He didn’t see the car. Pain and shock flooded his body as he felt himself fly through the air.

He woke up in a cage, his leg, and torso wrapped in bandages.

“Why would you run away? You’re lucky that it was nothing more than your arm,” Steve said. He looked so disappointed. Clint wished he could tell the alpha what really happened. Especially when he saw Steve fed Loki leftovers and all he received was omega food.

* * *

_**DAY 3** _

___Clint’s out,_ __ Natasha growled to Bruce and Tony from their meeting place in front of the closet.

 ___Loki got him,_ __ Tony added with a tiny groan and a whimper.

Natasha continued _ _, _We can’t let him get the rest of us. We must be on our best behavior. Noth-__ _

“Natasha!”

She whipped around at Bucky’s yell of, “Use the goddamn litter box!”

Their meeting had been much too late. Natasha was screwed. She hissed, scrambling under the couch. That one was not on her. It had to be Loki. Since Clint had gotten hit and been gone for two days, Thor’s awful omega had been attempting to ruin her life. He had ripped up the curtains and couch cushions. He had broken into the treat closet. He had scent marked all over the house. And everything he did was blamed on Natasha since Clint was out of the equation. She had no idea how Steve and Bucky never saw him. She was one strike away from getting tossed outside for the rest of the week.

Of course, through it all, Loki had been an unctuous piece of trash, always purring and winding around the alpha’s legs and the moment that Steve and Bucky had their backs turned, he would create mischief.

She growled to herself, sheathing and unsheathing her claws in agitation.

_Natasha!_

She heard Loki’s smooth, jingling purr. She unsheathed her claws, then launched herself at him. He let out a shriek of surprise and pain as Natasha slashed his nose open. Tiny drops of crimson splattered on the ground and Loki let out an angry growl, posed to retaliate when Tony, who had approached unnoticed from behind, let out the most vicious sounding growl Natasha had heard from the small omega.

Loki whipped around, bristling, back arching and Natasha hissed. They were caught in a stand-off, Tony growling, Natasha hissing, and Loki, tail lashing, standing on three legs.

Then Bucky rounded the corner and stopped short. Natasha realized how bad it looked at the same time Loki did, and the black-haired omega crouched down with a pitiful cry, keeping on paw raised as he stared at Natasha with huge, fearful eyes.

Tony shared a glance with Natasha.

Bucky seemed frozen, but the moment Loki took a limping step towards him, he snapped out of it, reaching for Natasha. She let him, only because she knew she would be in greater trouble if she resisted. She was fairly sure that Tony would enjoy his time-out in the crate as much as she would enjoy the rest of her time outside, staring through the window, watching Loki get stroked as he watched the talking box, purring.

* * *

**__DAY 3b_ _ **

Tony was tired of Loki’s shenanigans. An afternoon in the crate watching Loki purr and wind around Bucky’s legs and then Steve’s when the blond alpha came come almost made him sick.

At least when dinner time came, Tony was freed, but the moment he made for his food, Loki stood in front of his bowl. Tony just barely refrained from baring his teeth at this home-wrecking omega that was hurting the rest of his pack.

_What, Reindeer games?_

_I want your food _ _,_ __ Loki said, straightforward, ignoring Tony’s nickname. A surge of anger swept over Tony, but he didn’t move.

_No._

_No?_ Surprise colored Loki’s voice.

 _How many times do I have to repeat myself? Are you deaf? No. And if I were you, I’d rethink my decisions. How do you think this will go over for you?_ Tony was all bravado. He hoped Loki couldn’t tell. _We've got two fighting omegas, a tracker, and me. You try anything again and you’ll be out before you can even say ‘sniff me’._

Loki just smiled at Tony. _And you, huh? The weak link._ He got to his feet, circling Tony. _I’m not surprised. You think you can intimidate me? Move, runt._

Tony merely growled, then yelped as claws caught his face and nose and he was slammed into the ground onto his back. There was a crushing feeling on his chest. Loki was standing on the arc reactor, bearing his weight down on the machine with a curious look. Then he smirked and raised a paw, about to slam it down onto the reactor. Tony flinched, looking away and bracing himself when he suddenly heard a thunderous growl.

Bruce.

In an instant, Steve was in the kitchen, ready to save whichever omega was about to be torn apart by Bruce, then stopped short. It was too late for Loki to even pretend he was the victim in this situation, though he tried, slinking off Tony and letting out a piteous mewl, ears flattened.

Tony wasn’t having that. The moment Loki was off him, he ran between Bruce’s legs, whimpering and shivering. Bruce seemed to be torn between going after Loki or licking Tony to comfort him. He did both, licking the smaller omega and stopping every few seconds to growl at Loki. Steve seemed to snap out of his shock, quickly grabbing Loki.

“Bad. We do not bully others,” Steve scolded, giving the omega a not-so-gentle swat on the butt. Loki had daggers in his eyes he glared at Tony and Bruce from the cage. Tony just looked back smugly.

Loki: 2, Pack: 1

* * *

**_DAY 4_ **

To say Bruce was angry would be an understatement. It had made him feel a little better when Loki had gotten into trouble...but, he didn’t plan to stop there. Bruce wasn’t generally vengeful. A lot of the time, he didn’t mind being walked upon. (Sometimes rather literally in the case of Clint.) It hurt less than being kicked.

But he was willing to be kicked this time. Loki needed to be stopped. So, late at night, he got up, nose pressed to the ground as he attempted to find the freshest trail of not-quite-Thor. His night vision wasn’t spectacular, like Natasha’s, so his sense of smell was what he depended upon in the dark house. He followed the scent straight to the Alpha’s room, which just angered him more. Why did Loki get to sleep with the alphas? It was probably Clint’s bed he was in. He quietly opened the door, shuffling into the room, lit by a small light near the bed. His eyes honed in on Loki in an instant.

And Steve’s eyes snapped open, just in time to see Bruce charging, teeth bared as he pounced upon Loki. Loki screeched as Bruce grabbed him by the scruff, shaking him back and forth wildly.

 _This is for Clint!_ Bruce snarled through fur and slammed Loki into the ground. At this point, Bucky was awake and Steve was getting out of bed, shouting. Loki was still screeching.

 ___This is for Natasha!_ __ Bruce continued, slamming the other omega into the ground again. Bucky was scrambling out of bed, running around the object to try to separate the two. Steve’s hands were grasping Bruce’s hips.

 _This is for Tony!_ Slam.

“Don’t grab his collar, Buck!” he vaguely heard Steve warn. The alpha’s hands had moved to his scruff.

 _Don’t._ Slam _ _._ Mess._ Slam _ _._ With. _Slam _ _._ My. _Slam _ _._ Family!_

Bruce let Loki go, throwing him against the wall. The other omega landed in a dazed heap, a whine erupting from his mouth as Bruce allowed himself to be dragged away by the alphas. Of course, Loki wasn’t seriously hurt. Bruce’s intention had been to scare the omega, not to kill him.

“Steve, what the hell do we tell Thor?! ‘Oh sorry, Bruce killed Loki. Our bad.’”

“This is exactly _why_ I said that a fighting omega that weighs over a hundred pounds was a bad idea!”

“You’ve only told me a thousand times,” Bucky said. He sounded tired. Loki stirred with a whimper. Bruce growled. He was quickly removed from the room. At this point, Tony and Clint were waiting outside the alpha’s room, probably hearing the commotion. Bruce was still wound up and greeted them both with a sloppy lick and a grumble before Steve continued to pull him away.

“Calm down, big guy. You’re okay. We’re going outside.”

Bruce didn’t care how much trouble he was in. He would like to see Loki try anything with his packmates again.

* * *

  _ **DAY 7**_

“How was your trip, Thor?” Steve asked as the tall blonde stepped into the foyer. He had cut his hair and a deep scar marred his eye, but he smiled nonetheless.

“It was fine, thank you. My father died and I had to fight my sister for the will, but other than that, I rather enjoyed it.”

Silence.

Steve knew Bucky was staring.

“How was Loki?” Thor asked, breaking the silence and Steve let out a slightly awkward laugh, coupled with a tight smile.

“That bad?” Thor asked, much to Steve’s dismay. Bucky nodded. “I’m sorry. Loki can be quite the troublemaker. Hopefully, he did not cause much trouble? I will pay for any damaged furniture.”

“No, not at all. He was fine. Nothing was destroyed,” Steve lied as he handed thor the crate. “He did take a bad fall off our counter. Buck and I took him to the vet on Friday. He’s still a bit grumpy.”

“Oh. I see. Thank you. I will pay you back by next Friday. I greatly appreciate what you’ve done. Goodbye Steve. Goodbye James.”

They watched him leave and the moment his car was out of the driveway Steve let out a sigh of relief.

“Really? Fell off a counter?”

“I didn’t hear you saying anything about his omega being a destructive shit,” Bucky asked, eyebrows raised.

“Language.”

“It was _one_  time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to continue this story with a one-shot collection or something, comment! I've got some ideas stored away that I never got to.
> 
> I'm so grateful for almost 500 kudos, and just...thank you. You guys' support though this story has been a little overwhelming. It almost makes me sad to discontinue it.
> 
> Anyway, that concludes "The Keeping and Caring of Abused Omegas" and thank you so much for reading :) I'm extremely grateful for the sheer amount of kudos, comments, and bookmarks I received on this story.
> 
> See ya,
> 
> -Pine

**Author's Note:**

> Hm. Well, I hope someone enjoyed. Leave a kudos or comment or something if you'd wanna read more, I suppose.


End file.
